Staying Entertained While On Treadmill

I had the same question several weeks back and asked my MFP friends, the best answer I got was to do intervals. It breaks up he run and before you know it 30 - 45 minutes are up in no time. You're concentration on what to do next. It works so well! So when I run on the treadmill I only do intervals.

I would so go on youtube and get caught up with watching certain user's i watch.

Maybe make a game of it? Like if you see something blue or whatever color then you will do ___ more minutes of it? And keep on doing it?

I listen to music and match my speed on the treadmill to the tempo of the song ..

^ This. And, my treadmill is in our dining room facing a window that overlooks our backyard which happens to also overlook a lake. I watch our cats playing, chasing leaves and/or climbing the tree, the various birds and when it's not gloomy I even catch the sunrise. Lately it's been foggy and gray, some days I can't even see the lake. C'mon spring!!! :sad:

Not sure how this would work on a treadmill, but it is a lot of fun to use when your going about your day! I got eaten while I was at East Side Mario's yesterday...lol!!

I recommend the Zombies, Run! app.

I just got it last week to make winter on the treadmill a little easier. I absolutely love the app. You use it on the treadmill by setting it to use the accelerometer for distance instead of GPS. I then just add the distance the treadmill gives me.

Damn polar vortex!!! I would love to use it outside! Just not ready for winter running yet, need better running gear for that.

All these suggestions are great - for what end up as "short runs" for me. I consider anything less than an hour a "short run".

Unfortunately, I've hit sub-zero (Fahrenheit, so you know it's cold) weather on "long run" days, which, for me, is long enough that I'm talking multiple hour runs (12+ miles). So far, I've been able to find movies that interest me enough to keep me distracted. But as the training season picks up, I'm going to enter multiple-movie territory (there are only so many movies worth watching over 2 hours, and most are tear jerkers - I do NOT need to be sloppy sobbing at mile 18 when the love interest dies a horrible, slow death waiting for her savior who never arrives).

Action movies I find are best - up-tempo music, not too many tears, not too many laughs, just the right amount of adrenaline. Pensive dark comedies are next best, with no tears and relatively few laugh-out-loud moments while still entertaining. Rom-coms slow me down, too much laughing, dramas can slog as well. Foreign action movies are good, they take a lot of focus, but reading bouncing subtitles can make me seasick.

I'm counting on the weather turning though, because I'm going to lose my mind. For some reason, I can go for 2, 3, even 4 hour training runs and just not get bored. I can't do much less than a 6 mile loop at that point (I prefer out-and-backs), but I'll look at the same hour of scenery a few times before I've had too much. The thought of watching the same movie or show twice in a row on a treadmill makes me want to lift weights instead.

Listening to my classic rock and metal mix on my iPod \m/

Netflix on my tablet.

For anything less than 5miles I can make do with music, but, 5+ miles and I watch something.

I have to say though, I'm ready for these insane windchills to go away for good because after the 11miles I did on the dreadmill this past week-endI am almost at my capacity for how long I can tolerate running on the spot.

Netflix on my iPhone or Zombies, Run! or podcasts. It depends on my mood. This weekend, I watched 2 episodes of Supernatural on my iPhone while running. Last week, I played Zombies, Run! and then switched to podcasts when the mission was over for the remainder of my run.

I also wish for spring really hard so that I can get outside and away from everyone else at the gym. LOL

I'm glad I found this thread because I had the same question! I watched the entire season of the biggest loser while on the elliptical. Greys anatomy,,etc. I also like romantic comedies (easy to watch). I'll have to try Sons of anarchy.

I agree with many people that Netflix is a good way to kill time on cardio machines. But my thing is listening to podcasts when I work out-- I feel that they are often a little more thought-provoking than most television shows, and it's much easier to just leave my headphones on when going between cardio and strength training if all I'm doing is listening!

cmasonrock wrote: »

Not sure how this would work on a treadmill, but it is a lot of fun to use when your going about your day! I got eaten while I was at East Side Mario's yesterday...lol!!

I recommend the Zombies, Run! app.

Wow, I totally misread this at first.

Music works for me. Spotify has some great playlists which let me hear new songs which have a good beat for running. If I'm working hard (and at my current fitness level, everything is hard), I can't do kobo, TV, or tablet, simply have to focus on the effort of running.

I also use Zombies, Run! You can set tracking to "off", so it's not confused about why you're not moving. A kick *kitten* playlist helps. I also try to do some sort of visualization, imagining I'm outside on my favourite trail. But to be fair, I'll run for half an hour, 45 minutes tops. Then I'm done. I will also do manual intervals, like run at a higher speed for 5, lower speed for 5 (although I usually time it by songs, not actual minutes).

Hope it warms up for you soon!

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

I run hard enough that I'm not bored. Focus on breathing and stride.

LOL. I could do a full on sprint and get bored.

I was just thinking that haha.

I have a stationary bike at home, and I blast music, dance and sing at the top of my lungs while spinning. When I used to work reception at a gym and could workout for free, I watched TV while on the treadmill but still found it kind of boring. I find strength training more enjoyable, but hard spinning/cardio can get me out of a mental funk if I've got some aggression to work out.